Women of Country on Women in Country

We can thank the shortsighted radio consultant Keith Hill for one thing: drawing attention to the women of country music in a year where so many of them are making outstanding music. As their mainstream counterparts cycle through a series of one-note styles and themes, female country artists are putting out diverse and decidedly more progressive music, even as they draw influence from previous generations. That they do so while supporting each other makes it all the more impressive.

“I don’t know what’s going on with all the other great female artists. I don’t know where the connection is off right now as far as the airplay….I champion the females. I’m a huge fan of female artists, and strong females in general. I’m proud of them, and I’m so thankful I’ve been able to follow in the footsteps of the ones before me, and I’m holding the door open for the ones that want to follow behind me. This is just one of those waves where females are struggling a little bit, but we’ll come back around and be a force to be reckoned with.”

“What I loved about being a woman in country music was there was something for everybody. There were a handful of us, probably 10 of us that were doing really, really well, but we were all a little bit different and I always thought it was easier.

People always said it’s so hard for a woman, but it’s easier because if you were a guy back in the 90’s you had two choices: You either wore the hat or you didn’t. So it was hard to distinguish yourself. As a woman it was easy because your image could be so completely whatever you wanted it to be. It was an awesome time to be a woman in the business.”